What's Left Unsaid
by memory's marionette
Summary: Because talk is cheap, silence speaks volumes, and actions speak louder than words. Ian/ Amy fluff.


A/N: Dedicated to all Amian shippers.

Because our ship doesn't need any canon to sail.

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><p>"Hello," Amy greeted half-heartedly. The person merely gave a little grunt in greeting as he plonked his derriere onto the park bench she was currently occupying.<p>

_Such a way with words_, she couldn't help but think, as they both lapsed into silence.

"You look terrible," Ian told her finally.

_What's wrong? _

Amy nodded. "I didn't sleep well yesterday."

"I see," he mused. "Insomnia?"

_Is your health alright?_

"No," she replied. "Just a bad case of nerves, I guess."

"Problems?"

_Do you need any help? _

She bit her lip; a sure sign that he was breaching an uncomfortable subject. "There used to be, but not anymore."

"Ah."

_That's good, then._

She glanced at him through her peripheral vision. "I broke up with Evan today."

His amber eyes met hers for the first time since they had started conversing. "Was it an amicable split?"

_He didn't make you cry, did he?_

She gave an affirmative nod. "It was cordial enough, I suppose. At least," she added, "that's how I felt. I'm not sure if he felt the same way, seeing as that I was the one who wanted to part ways."

"Trouble in paradise?" he asked, making a bad attempt at lightening the somber mood.

_Did he hurt you?_

Amy shook her head. "No. We just…" She paused, looking for the right words.

"Drifted apart?" Ian supplied.

_The two of you didn't seem very compatible in the first place, if you ask me._

She concurred. "Exactly. We just couldn't connect to each other anymore, if you get what I mean. That, and the fact that we still hadn't worked out some of our … trust issues, so to speak."

"I see," Ian responded.

_That person did seem a bit clingy, you know. At least, that's my humble opinion. _

_Then again, humble has never been an adjective synonymous with my character. Let's just say that I never liked the fellow._

"But enough about me," she said. Amy turned to face him. "What has the _great_ Ian Kabra been up to lately?"

"Nothing much," he said nonchalantly. "I must say, however, that I'm glad that you've finally recognized my superiority."

_Will you now admit that I'm much better than that person you've just ceased dating?_

The laughter that he hadn't heard in so long escaped her lips. "I knew you would, being the egotistical person that you are."

He smirked. "You flatter me."

_You know me too well. _

"You flatter yourself, actually," she told him frankly. "I was, in actuality, insulting you."

Ian shrugged. "I'm impervious to insults, really; it's like water off a duck's back."

_When are you going to pay me an actual compliment for a change? You always gave him many._

"So I've noticed."

"And what else have you noticed?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

_Are you at all attracted to me as I am to you?_

"Well, for one, we are in close proximity as of the moment, and for reasons unbeknownst to myself, I don't feel as uncomfortable as I thought I'd be," she said.

"Ah," he replied, unsure of what would be appropriate enough to say.

_I think that that's all jolly well good. Brilliant, really._

"And you look good in a suit."

"That's a fact of life."

_Just like how I do like you, but you seem completely oblivious to that particular truth as well._

Amy gave a very unladylike snort. "Have I mentioned that you're narcissistic?"

"This wouldn't be the first time you've reiterated that," he admitted.

_Is that all you think of me? _

"And you're not that bad," she added. "Honestly, Dan exaggerates when he says that you're a diaboli advocatus placed on earth to only make lives miserable."

"He said _what_?"

_Though I'm glad that you think I'm not too bad and I know that I am by far no angel, I really do feel like putting your brother through hell right now just to prove a point._

A slightly alarmed look etched itself onto her face. "Relax. I'm joking," she told him a bit too quickly, which made it seem just a bit more suspicious. "You do know what jokes are, right?"

"Of course," Ian replied indignantly. "I _do _have a sense of humor."

_You'd have seen it more often if our relationship had actually developed into something legitimate. But then again, I have no one but myself to blame for that. After all, it was my fault for not taking that chance. _

"That remains to be seen." He shot her the evil eye. "Oh, come on. It's another jest, for goodness sakes'." She sighed. "You know, for someone who's impervious to insults, you sure are sensitive."

"I am not," he protested.

_You know, I think you really have bewitched me in some way or another. I can't believe that I actually have half a mind to ask whether you like sensitive saps._

She smiled at him, her jade eyes twinkling with mirth. "Whatever you say."

He gazed at her, after a few moments of silence passed between them. "You've really changed, haven't you? I don't think you'd have ever gotten this far into a conversation without stuttering if I had talked to you a few years ago."

_You seem more confident, more attuned to yourself. Happier, even. _

_You've changed a lot. So maybe— just maybe— it was a good thing that we never ended up together. _

"I still stutter at times," she explained. "It's just not as commonplace as it was before. It's not as though I'm a completely new person."

"You haven't lost the old you, then?"

_Do you still have some feelings for me as I do for you? _

… _Good Lord, it feels like I'm carrying a torch for you. And in truth, I really am._

_Really, I can't even process the fact that this is Ian Kabra talking. Natalie will have a field day if she's able to read my thoughts._

"No."

_Truthfully, I still feel like myself, and I don't think I've changed much. Maybe my self-defense skills have really improved, and my speech is now actually coherent most of the time, but some things will always remain the same._

_I wonder if you know that part of me still likes you._

"Really?"

_I ponder about what would happen if I were to tell you that I like you. Frankly, the 'what ifs' have been plaguing the notion of you and I in my head for ages now. _

_But it seems that I'm probably not as great as I appear to be, seeing as that my tongue feels like it turns to lead every time I wish to tell you how I feel._

"Really."

_In all honesty, I don't believe in the rule that men should confess first when it comes to love. But for no rhyme or reason, telling you how I feel seems extraordinarily difficult. It's almost as if all my neurons are jumbled up in one tangled mess whenever I try to do so._

_The idea of you and I together is real enough, as dysfunctional a couple we may be. _

"I should be going now," she told him, after their little chat had come to a stall. "Dan will probably be wondering where I disappeared to."

_But I guess we'll never know for sure, seeing as that our feelings have always been left unsaid. _

"You're leaving?" he asked. "I'll escort you then."

_This is killing me. You've finally broken up with that fellow, and I still haven't set into motion a course of action. When did I turn into such a lily-livered louse? _

"There's no need—"

"I insist," he said firmly.

_I do think that it's time to take an alternative plan seeing as that the area of my cerebrum that controls speech is having a few difficulties._

"But—," she started protesting, only to be put into stunned silence when he took her hand in his and began walking her back to her house.

He glanced at her as to gauge her reaction, and if holding hands wasn't enough of a sign, then the look he gave her afterwards surely was.

_I like you._

She gave his hand a little squeeze.

_I like you too. _

_Don't let go._

His grip on her hand tightened.

_I won't._

Because talk is cheap, silence speaks volumes, and actions speak louder than words. So perhaps proclaiming your feelings to the world is overrated. Perchance words are unnecessary at times.

Because sometimes it's what is left unsaid that really matters.

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><p>AN: I was actually going to take a break because it's my birthday week and exams are over for now, but I felt a bit depressed after reading the new book because the Ian/Amy couple is no longer very canon. Gah!

WHY? Is it too much to ask for to have a couple I like actually get together in the books for once? Is there a rule that says that purplephantasms' favoured pairings are not allowed to be in romantic relationships?

So that's why I tried to write fluff this time around, though I'm not too good with the genre. (This is fluff, right? Honestly, I don't even know what I write half the time.) I figured that _someone_ should give them a happy-esque ending. That is what fanfiction is for, right? ;)

Oh, and though unrelated, furryraree, I have finally deciphered our English teacher's essay marking technique! I shall tell you about it later, since the news sort of sucks. :(

Phantasms, out! (I've always wanted to say that, as dorky as it may be. Hee! XD)


End file.
